Amritpal Singh gets some support on ground in his Punjab seat, for State’s ‘overreaction’

FROM a prison 2,300 km away, Amritpal Singh, the head of pro-Khalistan Waris Punjab De, has managed to create a stir in the Punjab constituency of Khadoor Sahib, from where he is contesting the Lok Sabha elections.

While the 31-year-old’s decision to take the plunge, after railing against the Indian State, may have come as a surprise, his long-distance nomination filing appears to have been a smooth affair. Now, notwithstanding fears expressed by leaders like Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal that his candidacy is part of “a sinister conspiracy to destabilize Punjab”, Amritpal seems to be getting support on the ground.

At the entrance of some villages in Majha region, where Khadoor Sahib falls, banners are up asking other candidates apart from Amritpal to keep away. Jagmeet Singh, a graduate preparing for the Army at Choorchak village near Faridkot, says: “He was just preaching against drugs, but they put him behind bars.”

Amritpal, who emerged suddenly on the Punjab scene as a pro-Khalistan voice, was slapped with charges under the NSA after his supporters attacked a police station.

Manmeet Singh, a farmer-cum-businessman from Ferozepur city, also says that the State’s “overreaction” is the main reason Amritpal is getting attention. “Look at how they conducted the operation to hunt him down. There was no Internet for over a week, and even youngsters who merely reposted his tweets were picked up.”

Even a Punjab Police personnel, visiting a gurdwara at Chabaal Kalan village near Tarn Taran, has the same to say. Admitting support for Amritpal in some quarters, he says: “Ohde naal kaafi dhakka hoya hai (He has faced a lot of injustice).”

Prof Amarjit Singh, Director of the Centre on Studies in Sri Guru